Kapur has his ‘Mantra’

'Maqbool's' Bhardwaj to helm pic

NEW DELHI — “Four Feathers” helmer Shekhar Kapur will return to his Bollywood roots to make his bow as a producer with “Mantra,” a Hindi-lingo family fantasy movie.

Pic will be helmed by Vishal Bhardwaj, whose Hindi version of Macbeth, “Maqbool,” is being hailed in India and at film festivals abroad for its novel theme of casting Shakespeare’s characters as Mumbai underworld dons.

London-based Kapur, who also directed “Elizabeth,” said pic is about a child who acquires magic powers and who has to deal with the problems that come with them.

Kapur saw Bhardwaj’s “Maqbool” at the recent Marrakech Film Festival in Morocco and was so impressed that he met the helmer in a local tea house to clinch the deal.

Bhardwaj will help writer Abbas Tyrewala pen the script. No budget has been announced for the movie, due to start filming next year.

Kapur, who made his name in Bollywood in the 1980s with “Mr. India” and “Masoom” (Innocent), moved to London in the mid-’90s after making international hit “Bandit Queen.”

He also has signed up with South African producer Anant Singh for a biography on Nelson Mandela.